Secretary of State visits Aston Martin

UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills, Vince Cable today made his first visit to Aston Martin’s global headquarters at Gaydon, Warwickshire and in doing so fulfilling a long-held ambition to drive one of the company’s cars.

As part of the informal visit, Mr Cable met members of the Aston Martin executive team and enjoyed a brief glimpse of the company’s Gaydon facility before he drove the company’s flagship DBS model – one of the cars built at the Warwickshire factory.

Mr Cable said: "As I said on Desert Island Discs, driving an Aston Martin has always been a dream of mine.

"Fortunately for me Aston Martin took note and gave me the opportunity not only to test drive some of their cars but also to witness the high level of skills and engineering that go into making premium and niche cars in the UK.

"This is something in which the UK excels and our cars are exported all over the world.”

Aston Martin employs around 1,300 people in the UK – the majority of which are based at the Gaydon facility which has been the British company’s global headquarters since 2003. The company designs, develops and engineers a range of critically acclaimed sports cars including the DBS, DB9, Vantage and new four-door Rapide, with exports accounting for around 75% of the company’s annual sales.